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What in the heck is this & why is it on our website? This is purely propaganda from the “soak & suck” folks!
I still remember some of the great advice I read on this board my first months in the business. One of the best lines I remember reading was: “Believe in the system, because it is good & it works!” Start with that attitude & your sales will reflect in good results! Personal contacts are the greatest asset in the beginning I believe – friends, church members, business people you know, etc. From there, the referrals grow. It is important to “fish” for business when the fish are biting also. Think about the predominant work force in your area – what do you think their pay periods are? Hit them when they get paid and you have a better shot! Rise above the buzz – insert flyers on tues/thurs instead of Wed when everyone else does for example. Walk neighborhoods – get the permit – and put flyers on doors. You’ll be surprised – folks will call…but as said above it may be awhile!! Holidays are approaching – get to them before they put up the Tree & you’ll help them get ready for visitors! Currently, I only do HB part-time – but I can tell you the demand continues to grow because of referrals & soon I’ll be back to full-time! I believe it – because I believe in the system and I think this franchise is on the edge of expedential growth!!!! Good luck!!
The irritating thing is – you can’t find this item on the “On-Line Store”. Why is that? I have wondered about this equip before, and I went to Oreck’s website. It would be nice if our on-line material was complete including pictures, full descriptions, and prices!! How much is this?
I, too keep the originals. The reason is the duplicate/carbon copy will deteriorate quickly & soon be impossible to read. Originals with ink will at least hold up for a period of time required by the IRS!
Expect the worst…. then be happy when it’s not that bad! People have different tolerances for dirt. I have a few customers who call regularly because they can’t stand a single spot, while other infrequent customers seem to be ok with living in total chaos/barnlike conditions!! Isn’t it amazing how some folks will totally trash a really nice house for instance? I’ve cleaned some 1/2 million $ homes before that I would not live in ! Others, almost seem to not really need cleaning at all — breathe a sigh of relief and enjoy those days!!
Yup – usually a regular maintenance re-set is needed. Check your manual – there is a wierd way to re-set it. Really, like pump the gas twice and honk the horn – or something similarily wird!!! haha
I agree that there are many variables when calculating market value; but, in every type of business there is an industry common multiplier used in business valuation. Some types of businesses sell for different multipliers of gross sales that is – and often this is common knowledge among savvy business brokers who may be shopping for their clients. For instance in our area of the south central region, it is common for franchise restaurants to sell for 2.5 X annual profits-approx. Sometimes, that figure is cross-referenced with a multiplier of gross annual sales – in this case 40%. An experienced buyer will look at both, so your paperwork should relect good in both areas. In our category of franchised carpet cleaners, annual gross sales is a good indicator and accepted as a good benchmark. But, annual profits should reflect an appropriate multiplier as well! Can anyone tell me what that should be for our industry?? I.e., if my gross sales are 200k, and I think I should sell for that amount, then my net profits should also come close to a standard multiplier. If my net profits were 75k then I would hope the acceptable multiplier was about 2.6. Anyone have a clue??
I have experienced this as well – and have learned to have a little more trust in the product since I first started. Of course there’s also the annoying issue of ‘shadows’ – sometimes when tired I have found myself cleaning extra on a shadow….. hmmnnn, oh yeah, that’s my head!! haha
Agreed! I rarely do any apartment work for this reason – it just isn’t worth it! Sometimes it really is best to just go ahead & refer them to a local steam cleaner “because this is one instance where their process would probably be better suited”! And then, RUN!!!! I also don’t want to subject the equipment to some places! ha Luckily though I’ve only had to walk on a couple of calls!
I agree! I think it would be great if we could all see pics of all vans being transformed – including some different kinds of vans – so everyone can get a better idea of the overall results!!
I would agree with the personal letters w/flyer idea! We sent out 100 more to people we know in June & have easily raked in (no pun intended!) over 3k from that one mailing! Personal contacts are always the best! If you’ve got extra time, I also have found it successful (and good for exercise) to walk a neighborhood and leave a flyer on every door. You often meet people that way also. It may seem like an annoying thing to do – but it works!
Agreed – booties are not practical all the time, but good to have around just in case! I wear tennis shoes that are completely white with a full white sole also and they work great. It is also easier to check them for dirt when going in & out of the house. There are times though when you’ve got a house with no real side walk – and you find yourself carrying equip over gravel etc. – or – when there’s that bright white carpet that shows it all … then it’s a good idea!!
Haven’t run into that one yet….. might check what kind of sole is on your shoes though. Should only use completely white-soled tennis shoes – which are getting harder to find these days! Sometimes the darker colors or dirt in your shoe soles can cause problems. On really light carpets, or when you have a long distance from the truck outside, dirt etc, it is a good idea to use “booties” !
